Chris Burkard is a free spirit who has steadfastly pursued his own path – often in defiance of conventional norms and physical challenges. Essentially a landscape photographer whose work inevitably transcends that time-honored genre, he has a deep emotional and spiritual relationship with the sea and the shoreline. This profound heartfelt connection with water in all its incredibly diverse natural states is vividly expressed in many of his most magnificent images, including those showcased in this post.
“I enjoy showing people doing demanding things in challenging environments,” says Burkard, “and I love all aspects of the natural world. But what inspires me is to see people challenging the natural world, not in order to conquer it, but to exult in it, and bringing that transformational experience to the viewer. Many people aren’t able to experience these phenomenally beautiful and remote places directly, so I bring the experience to them. I have a penchant for shooting in places that are a little harsher, more rugged and natural than usual, and what gives me the greatest sense of accomplishment is meeting someone who was actually motivated to travel to one of these destinations as a direct result of seeing my photographs. My mission is to motivate people to move beyond their comfort zone both visually and physically—that’s really what inspires me and keeps me going.”
Remarkably, Burkard is equally adept at genres ranging from portraiture, travel, and street photography, to photo reportage. And it is this amazing versatility that has enabled him to forge relationships with top-tier commercial clients including Apple, J. Crew, Land Rover, The North Face, Belstaff, Patagonia, and Toyota. Burkard’s work has also appeared in such prestigious publications as National Geographic, The New Yorker, GQ, Men’s Journal, and Vogue. Often referred to as a “surf photographer” because he began his career in his early ‘20s by contributing to Surfer magazine, he is now its official staff photographer. Burkard has also published a number of books, most recently “High Tide: A Surf Odyssey,” and a children’s book, “The Boy Who Spoke To The Earth,” both in 2015. Last March, he gave a TED talk, “The Joy of Surfing in Ice-Cold Water,” in Vancouver. He was recently named the Photoimaging And Dealers Association (PMDA) Visionary Photographer for 2016.
What’s in Chris Burkard’s Camera Bag?
“I shoot about 85% of my images with a Sony A7R II, and occasionally, depending on where and what I’m shooting, I cycle between that and the Sony A7S II, which is optimized for shooting night and low-light images of things like the Milky Way, and the compact Sony A6300 with the Sony Vario-Tessar T* 16-70mm f/4 ZA OSS lens, which is one of my favorite all-around cameras. I generally favor the Zeiss lenses for my Sony full-frame cameras as well, including the Sony 16-35mm Vario-Sonnar T* ZA SSM II Zeiss, the Sony 24-70mm f/2.8 Vario-Sonnar T* Zeiss ZA SSM II, and the Zeiss 25mm f/2.0 Batis Series lens. I chose these cameras and lenses because they’re compact, lightweight, rugged, dependable, responsive, and deliver outstanding image quality. The fact that they can be charged via their USB ports is another big plus—I always bring my Goal Zero Battery Charger when I’m on the go. For the record I use a super lightweight carbon fiber tripod and for 90% of my shots I use a Hoya HD 3 Circular Polarizer filter.”
BEN WEILAND DANE GUDAUSKAS JUSTIN QUINTAL TYLER WARREN SAM HAMMER ELLI THOR PRESTON RICHARDSON FALL
“I am inspired by nature!” exclaims Burkard, ”and I seek out and strive to capture the timeless element in everything I shoot because it’s an effective way to make my photographs endure. I create images that the viewer can feel part of, images that they can relate to and integrate into their own consciousness—in short, attainable adventures. That’s why so many of my images have the quality of silhouettes that could have been taken in 1950 or 2015. I want my images to last, not merely to exist for the here and now.”
“I have had a lifelong passion for the shoreline and the ocean,” Burkard continues. I grew up in a small town on the beach so it was natural for me to appreciate nature by the sea. For me, the first canvas has always been the ocean. I wanted a way to travel and express myself, and photography became the medium through which I experience the world and put myself into it. I’ve gone to places I had only seen in magazines—Iceland, Norway, the Russian Far East, to India, the Pacific Islands, and South America—and I learned by doing. I am totally self-taught and I believe travel is one of the best educations you can get. I probably would have gone to a photography school if I could have afforded it, but it was not an option for me at the time.”
“I really got into photography seriously right after high school, where I had done a lot of art” Burkard recalls. “But I realized that I needed a way to be in those moments. Photography was an awesome extension of my body that enabled me to do the things that I loved to do. It was this strong experiential component that drew me to photographic expression—it was something I could to do and be part of at the same time. In essence, photography is what allowed me to be part of what is happening, and I took it everywhere I could go. The approach I take to my work places a large emphasis on being there and having the experience over and in front of creating the image. At its best, this ‘experience-forward’ approach leads to dynamic, engaging, provocative images that convey a sense of your actually being there and experiencing it yourself. These are moments people can relate to. It’s always about accessibility and allowing the viewer to feel that they can be there and do these things. It’s not about the idea of capturing something only I can capture; it’s about creating images where the viewer experiences the same stuff and the same feelings I do. I guess that’s what makes these images universal and beyond time.”
“What’s going through my mind when I press the shutter release? That’s a good question and I can only answer it by trying to describe my mindset,” says Burkard. “I place a lot of emphasis on luck, being in the right place at the right time, and the ability to respond effectively to unpredictable elements. Openness to experience is the key—be prepared to be awed by what is in front of you. Nowadays I have come to realize that I also need to have a story to tell, that I am a storyteller. No image is more valuable than one that tells an authentic story. The experience is also about being there now, in the literal and existential sense, when the light, time and place are right, and knowing on a deep level that that’s when to feel inspired.
I am most excited about being able to share my work because I intuitively understand that communicating one’s consciousness to others, and evoking an emotional response in the people that experience your vision, is the essence of all art. So I am an artist; that’s what I ended up being.”
Chris Burkard’s Latest Adventure
“When I was recently photographing surfing in Iceland under the Northern Lights I was honestly in awe that it was even happening. This started as a ’what if’ scenario but I never would have thought that I would see it come to fruition. There are so many variables that come into play that are so far outside of your control: swell, tide, wind, light, and the presence of the aurora borealis. I think the most amazing feeling was knowing, in that moment as we were shooting, that we were the only ones on the planet currently surfing under the Northern Lights. It seems like somewhat of a blur as I was scrambling around trying to photograph in the short window of time but there was plenty of yelling, hooting, and laughing that I recall. The initial goal of the project was centered around the seeing whether it was even possible but the entire experience allowed me to get back to the roots of why I began a career in photography — to show people the beauty that can be found on this earth when one is willing to push into the unknown. It’s a nerve-wracking event, putting all of your trust into something that is so uncertain, but I’ve come to understand that that it’s so essential to do something that’s new, challenging, and different. Looking back at this trip I feel like I’ve executed what I went there to get while also being refreshed in what drives me to continue photography.”
“The physical/equipment challenges are what made this incredibly difficult. Physically speaking, we were there in the middle of winter meaning that the surfers had about an hour in the water before signs of hypothermia began to set in. This meant we had to wait until the aurora borealis was in the correct spot (close to the ocean and behind the mountains in the background) before sending them out, hoping they could get a wave. Shooting an action sport at night without using a flash is seemingly impossible due to the requirement of high shutter speeds in the presence of little to no physical light. We were shooting on Sony A7S II’s with prime lenses set to f/1.4-1.7. These cameras were essentially seeing in the dark and picking up more light than the naked eye. We basically did two different trips to northern Iceland in the winter. The first one was where the idea and concept came to life and the second one was where we tried to perfect it. It was mind-blowing–one the most challenging shots I have ever tried in my life.”
Chris Burkard’s Forthcoming Adventures
“I’ve made it my goal to explore Chile/ Patagonia in the near future. I visited Chile to find surf early in my career and have since wanted to go back because of how diverse the landscape is. My motivations vary from seeing an image and wanting to experience a place for myself to going on Google Earth and trying to find a place I’ve never seen photographed before. Other than that I’m really excited to explore some remote islands off the coast of Russia. They look really hard to get to. But it’s wild and challenging, which I love.”
Chris Burkard and his wife Breanne have two sons, Jeremiah and Forest. They live in Grover Beach on California’s Central Coast.
To see more of Chris Burkard’s work go to:
Instagram: @chrisburkard
Chris’ website: http://www.chrisburkard.com/
